Author: Jernej Vene
Location: Olympiahalle / Munich / Germany
Concert date: 24.05.2006
Attendance: 12
Ticket price: from 51 to 120 euros
As we all know, the biggest names in popular music rarely make it to Slovenian stages. I’m talking about the acts that need a huge stage, a whole light park and a big crew to pull off their show. All that costs serious money, and promoters here mostly struggle to scrape it together. The result: a day trip to a bigger city next door. This time our destination was Munich and a concert by California’s Eagles. Organized by Concert Freak, we got a comfortable, not-too-long ride, and the fans add the real charm to a trip like this, since they’re usually the bus’s resident entertainers. Besides the drinking and singing, they pull off plenty of mischief too. And the weather was just right for traveling, a bit of spring sun and some clouds so it wasn’t too hot.
Tickets sold out back in winter, but a few people still managed to grab some at the last minute from scalpers. It kicked off at 8:20 p.m., and from about the third song on, we lucky ones in the floor section could soak up the gorgeous sound created by bassist Timothy B. Schmit, drummer Don Henley and guitarists Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh. These four gentlemen make up Eagles today. Besides being outstanding instrumentalists, they split the vocal duties as usual. By far the most went to Don Henley, then Joe Walsh, who’s also the band’s clown, and Schmit and Frey sang lead the fewest times. The crowd was mixed, though of course most were people who’ve followed Eagles since their beginnings. Some of the older fans had brought along their kids, who’d surely turn up their noses at this music on their own, since they’re growing up on something different. The stalls offered T-shirts, caps, shirts and even a women’s bathrobe (prices ranged from 30 to 100 euros). But back to the music. The opener Take It Easy was a perfect way to start, since it’s pretty fast. Then they mixed newer and older songs with hits from the members’ solo careers, and toward the end they won everyone over again with the band’s tried-and-true classics. The sound on the floor was fantastic; my buddies up in the stands were of course shortchanged on that, since they had pretty unfortunate seats. Perhaps a remark here for the organizers rather than the band, for selling literally every possible nook of the Olympic hall. The floor had chairs set up, because that’s what the band wanted, so the money from tickets that would’ve been sold for the floor as standing room had to be made up elsewhere. So the thrifty Germans sold seats almost behind the stage, where the poor folks saw nothing more than a curtain and the sound tech on stage. Standing tickets were also on sale at the top of the stands (above the highest row of seats) for a whole 50 euros. That was the cheapest ticket; on the floor they went for 100 and 120 euros. Of course, you have to pay for a production this flawless. There were two big video screens plus a third, rectangular one above the stage, so the view of the show was well taken care of. Eagles and their eight collaborators have been playing together since 2001, and you can hear it. The professional, technically perfect performance first made me suspect the gentlemen had a few things on a hard drive, but they soon brought me back down to earth. In the intro of one song, Walsh’s guitar was way too loud compared with the other instruments, so I relaxed and kept enjoying myself. The crowd of course didn’t hesitate and joined in on the songs they knew. The enthusiasm was incredible. Henley’s hit The Boys of Summer got the people on the floor out of their seats. They crammed into the aisle in the middle of the hall and danced happily. After the break we naturally hoped we could stay on our feet and maybe move closer to the stage. After Tequila Sunrise, Glenn Frey politely pointed out to the people standing in front of the stage that they were blocking the view, because the tickets hadn’t been cheap. He suggested they could dance toward the end of the show, when the party would be at its peak. Maybe Frey missed the mark there, since almost nobody stood up again until the end. Brilliant musicians that they are, they did their job with distinction. The backing musicians are outstanding, and I’d single out Steuart Smith in particular, who replaced and improved on former member Don Felder. Don Henley introduced one of the newer songs, Hole in the World, which deals with the state of mind after September 11, 2001. He said frankly that it’s time for the US to get new national leadership. Glenn Frey joined in with a story about a sticker he’d seen on a car bumper in Los Angeles: “I can’t wait till 2008!” (meaning the 2008 election, editor’s note). Well, I’m waiting for 2007, when they’re finally supposed to release a new studio album. Having seen Eagles ten years ago in the same hall, I can say that as performers they haven’t aged one bit, let alone ten years!
Setlist
Take it Easy
Witchy Woman
Peaceful Easy Feeling
One of These Nights
New Kid in Town
I Can’t Tell You Why
Lyin’ Eyes
The Boys of Summer
In The City
The Long Run
Break (20 minutes)
Tequila Sunrise
Love Will Keep Us Alive
No More Cloudy Days
Hole in the World
Take it to the Limit
Walk Away
Sunset Grill
Band introduction
Life’s Been Good
Dirty Laundry
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
First encore
Hotel California
Second encore
Rocky Mountain Way
All She Wants to do is Dance
Third encore
Already Gone
Desperado
Lineup:
Bill Armstrong trombone
Scott Crago drums, percussion
Glenn Frey guitar, vocals
Al Garth trumpet
Don Henley drums, guitar, vocals, percussion
Willie Hollis keyboards, vocals
Christian Mosert trumpet
Timothy B. Schmit bass guitar, vocals
Greg “Frosty” Smith trumpet
Steuart Smith guitar, vocals
Michael Thompson accordion, keyboards, vocals
Joe Walsh guitar, vocals
Photo gallery
